Backlash-proof fishing reel

ABSTRACT

In a fishing reel of the type comprising a housing having spaced, parallel front and back plates, and a spool having a shaft connected between first and second spaced, parallel end plates, the spool being supported for rotation within the housing, the improvement wherein a spring, consisting of a plurality of coils of wire, each successive coil having a smaller diameter than the preceding coil, is positioned between the back plate of the housing and the adjacent end plate of the spool, the spring applying a force to the spool to prevent unlimited rotation thereof.

United States Patent 1 Mroz [ IN larch 20, 1973 [54] BACKLASH-PROOFFISHING REEL [76] Inventor: Walter Mroz, 8841 Winston Rd.,

Anaheim, Calif. 92804 22 Filed: Jan.,l9, i971 [21] Appl. No.: 107,620

[52] U.S. Cl. ..242/84.5l R, 242/8452 R [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 89/02 [58]Field of Search.....242/84.5l R, 84.5 R, 84.52 R

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,673,382 6/1928 Hofe..242/84.5 R 2,012,251 811935 Smith.... ...242/84.52 R 2,279,434 4/1942Balz ..242/84.5 R 2,285,493 6/1942 Clickner... .....242/84.5 R 2,629,5652/1953 Schafer ....2 42/84.52 R

2,176,247 l0/l939 Coxe ..242/84.51R

Primaryv ExaminerBi1ly S. Taylor Attorney-Philip M. Hinderstein In afishing reel of the type comprising a housing hav- ABSTRACT ing spaced,parallel front and back plates, and a spool.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATEHTEUMAR 20 1975 I N V E NTOR ML 75/?A4902 ATTOP/VEYS 1 BACKLASH-PROOF FISHING REEL BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to abacklash-proof fishing reel and, more particularly, to apparatus whichmay be added to any standard type fishing reel to make such fishing reelvirtually backlash-proof.

2. Description of the Prior Art When fishing, either from a floatingplatform such as a boat or a land-based platform such as a pier or atthe waters edge, it is common practice to cast ones line some distancefrom the platform. For this purpose, essentially all fishermen use afishing rod and a reel, the latter being of two basic types. The firsttype of fishing reel, usually referred to as the standard type, includesa housing which rotatably supports a spool which consists of a shaftconnected between first and second spaced, parallel end plates. Thefishing reel is connected to the fishing rod with the axis of the spoolperpendicular to the length of the rod and the line is withdrawn fromthe spool in a direction perpendicular to the axis of rotation thereofas the spool rotates.

Such standard type fishing reels have several desirable features andare, therefore, widelyused. Such reels are basically simple, rugged,compact and inexpensive, making them a standard item in most fishermenstackle box. On the other hand, such standard type fishing reels have onemajor disadvantage. More specifically, when casting with such a reel,the spool is released from the crank mechanism so that it is free torotate when the line is cast out. This being the case,

when the line hits the water, there is nothing to prevent the spool fromcontinuing to rotate. If the spool continues to rotate when the line isno longer being withdrawn, the line accumulates around the spool, withinthe reel, resulting in tangling and knotting of the line. This tanglingof the line, sometimes referred to as a birds nest, is the result of thephenomenon called backlash.

Several methods have been devised to prevent backlash. The most commonmethod is to thumb the spool. In other words, the fisherman places histhumb adjacent the spool when casting out and attempts to stop therotation of the spool with his thumb as soon as the line hits the water.This procedure, while workable, is inconsistent at best. If thefisherman hits the spool before the line hits the water, there is apossibility of the line snapping. On the other hand, if the fisherman islate in applying his thumb to the spool, a birds nest may rality of finson the inner face of the housing plate and similar fins on the outerface of the spool plate. Such fins purportedly create wind resistance inthe area between the housing and spool plates to prevent unlimitedrotation of the spool. However, such fins have not proven successful. Asa result, today, fishermen still use their thumbs to control therotation of the spool or, alternatively, attempt to adjust the positionof the end cap on the shaft of the spool to apply a sufficient amount offriction to the spool to prevent unlimited rotation thereof. However,this is a trial and error process and difficult, if not impossible, toadjust accurately.

The other type of reel commonly used for casting eliminates the backlashproblem by positioning the axis of the spool parallel to the length ofthe fishing rod. By so positioning the spool, which now remainsstationary, the line is pulled off of the end of the spool as it is castout. A rotating finger is then provided for winding the line back ontothe spool. An additional mechanism is also usually provided foroscillating the spool in a direction parallel to the axis thereof as theline is wound thereon to evenly distribute the line over the length ofthe spool.

While casting reels solve the basic backlash problem, they have severaldisadvantages associated therewith so that they are not as widely usedas the standard type reel. More specifically, such reels arecomplicated, delicate and expensive. Because of their delicate nature,they are primarily used for fresh water fishing and are difficult to usefor large fish such as found in salt water. In other words, because ofthe fact that the line is picked upby a rotating finger and wound overthe result. Furthermore, with large reels, of the type used in saltwater fishing for large fish, there is a considerable amount of frictionon the fishermans thumb when using this method whichmay result in anuncomfortable bruise. To solve this particular problem, some fishermenuse a thumber, a leather finger attached to the reel whichis pressed onthe spool, under the control of the thumb. However, even though suchthumbers may prevent bruising of the fishermans thumb, they still do notsolve the basic problem of stopping the spool too soon or too late.

Many attempts have been made to provide attachments for fishing reelswhich will prevent backlash and stop the spinning. reel as soon astheline hits the water but none of such attachments have proven operable.By way of example, one fishing reel mounts a pluspool, one cannot crankin the line when a fish is caught but must pump the pole up to gain lineand then lower the pole, cranking at the same time, to wind the line onthe spool. As a result, it takes substantially longer to bring in a fishwith a casting reel than with a reel of the standard type. In addition,only light-weight line can be used because of the fragile constructionof casting reels. Finally, such reels are awkward because they hangunder the fishing rodand one must cast with one hand and then reel-inwith the other hand in an opposite direction from normal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, theseproblems of the prior art are entirely eliminated by providing apparatusfor preventing backlash in fishing reels of the standard type. By makingany standard type fishing reel virtually backlash-proof, the necessityfor using the more delicate, complex and expensive casting reels isentirely eliminated. With the present apparatus added to any fishingreel of the standard type, the line may be cast out with no attempt madeto control the rotation of coil having a smaller diameter than thepreceding coilwhereby the spring may be compressed to a length equal tothe diameter of the wire. The spring is positioned in a fishing reel ofthe standard type, between the back plate of the housing and theadjacent end plate of the spool whereby the spring applies a slight tomoderate pressure on the outer face of the spool plate to preventunlimited rotation thereof.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide abacklash-proof fishing reel.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus forvirtually backlash-proofmg a fishing reel of the standard type. i

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide aspring consisting of a plurality of coils of wire, each successive coilhaving a smaller diameter than the preceding coil, such spring adaptedto be used with a standard type fishing reel to prevent backlash.

Still other objects, features and attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from areading of the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment constructed in accordance therewith, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate likeparts in the several figures and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective, exploded viewof a typical fishing reel of the standard type; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a portion of the fishingreel of FIG. 1, taken along the axis of rotation of the spool.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,there is shown one configuration of a fishing reel of the standard type,generally designated 10. Reel includes a main housing 11 consisting of afront plate 12, a back plate 13 and a plurality of spacers .14 through17 which maintain plates 12 and 13 in spaced, parallel relationship. Amember 18 is secured to spacers l6 and 17, member 18 permittingattachment to a fishing reel.

Reel 10 also includes a spool, generally designated 20, consisting of ashaft or sleeve 22 connected between a pair of end plates 23 and 24which are maintained in spaced, parallel relationship, the line beingadapted to be wound around sleeve 22, between end plates 23 and 24.

The above-mentioned components are common to all standard type reels,although the shapes and sizes may vary somewhat. Different makes ofreels are constructed and arranged in different ways although all suchreels include a cranking mechanism, generally designated 30, forcontrolling the rotation of spool 20. By way of example, fishing reel 10includes an additional plate 31 adapted to be secured to front plate 12for housing the cranking mechanism 30. Plate 31 includes a plurality ofholes 32-35 which are aligned with spacers 14-17. The ends of spacers14-17 extend through holes 32-35 respectively, whereupon screws 36extend into internally threaded holes in spacers 14-17 to secure plate31 to plate 12. When so positioned, a shaft 21, connected to the end ofsleeve 22, extends through an opening 37 in plate 31 which is closed byan end cap 38.

Fishing reel 10 may also include an additional shaft 40 which drives afeeder mechanism 48, which moves between plates 12 and 13 to evenlydistribute the line on spool 20. The end of shaft 40 may extend throughan opening 41 in plate 31 where it is connected to a handle 42 by a nut43. A pair of gears 44 and 45 are positioned on shafts 40 and 21,respectively, the teeth of which engage when so positioned. In thismanner, rotation of handle 42 rotates shaft 40 and gear 44, the latterrotating gear 45 and spool 20.

Opening 37 supports one end of spool 20 for rotation about an axisdefined by sleeve 22 and shaft 21. The other end of spool 20 includes ashaft 21', connected to the other end of sleeve 22, shaft 21' extendingthrough an opening 50 in back plate 13 which supports such other end ofspool 20 for rotation. Opening 50 is enclosed by an end cap 51.

Essentially all standard type fishing reels include a ratchet mechanism,generally designated 60, which is designed to make an audible sound toindicate rotation of spool 20. In a typical case, ratchet mechanism 60includes a ratchet spring 61 which is an annular member, one side ofwhich is connected to back plate 13 by one or more rivets 62. The otherside of ratchet spring 61 has a slit therein, through which extends aratchet finger 62. Ratchet finger 62 is adapted to engage a ratchet gear63 connected to shaft 21 adjacent the outside face of end plate 24.Accordingly, as spool 20 rotates, ratchet finger 62 oscillates under thecontrol of ratchet gear 63 whereby ratchet spring 61 produces an audiblesound. Ratchet finger 62 is connected to plate 13 by a rivet 64 whichextends through a slot 65 whereby finger 62 may be slid radially todisengage ratchet gear 63, as during casting.

The spacing between plates 31 and 13 and end plates 23 and 24,respectively, is arranged to permit lateral movement of spool 20. Morespecifically, in order to permit free rotation of spool 20 when casting,there is a slight space between end plate 24 and back plate 13 and asimilar space between end plate 23 and plate 31 to eliminate frictionbetween such plates. In fact, it is this lack of friction which givesspool 20 unlimited rotational freedom and eventually causes backlashwhen casting. While friction may be added by tightening end caps 38and/or 51, it is diffieult, if not impossible, to adjust such frictionto accurately stop spool 20 as soon as the line strikes the water.

According to the present invention, backlash in fishing reels of thestandard type is virtually eliminated by the addition of a spring,generally designated 70. Spring is of the compression type" and consistsof a length of wire formed into a plurality of coils. Each successivecoil has an outside diameter which is equal to or smaller than theinside diameter of the preceding coil. In this manner, the coils may becompressed within each other so that the total length of spring 70 is assmall as the diameter of the wire itself. This is necessary to permitspring 70 to be placed into the close confines of the space between theinner face of back plate 13 and the outer face of end plate 24, as shownin FIG. 2. In addition, the diameter of the large end of spring 70 mustbe great enough to avoid interference with ratchet mechanism 60 butsmall enough to avoid contact with the periphery of end plate 24. Thediameter of the small end of spring 70 must be great enough to permitratchet gear 63 to extend therethrough, also as shown in FIG. 2.

Spring 70 may be installed in any standard type fishing reel simply bytaking the reel apart in the same remainder of reel is assembled in theconventional manner.

In operation, and with spring 70 in place, the small diameter endthereof exerts a slight to moderate pressure against the outer face ofend plate 24 thereby eliminating the play in spool 20. By a properdesign of the size of the wire and the number of turns in spring 70,this friction against plate 24 is minimal and only slightly affects thecasting. operation. However, when the line is cast out, the pressureexerted by spring 70 on plate 24 controls the rotation of spool so thatrotation is permitted only so long as the line exerts a counter force onthe spool. When the line starts to decelerate, the pressure exerted byspring 70 causes spool 20 to decelerate by a corresponding amount sothat the angular velocity of spool 20 corresponds to the velocity of theline. Finally, when the line strikes the water and is no longer beingwithdrawn from spool 20, spring 70 causes spool 20 to stop.

The size of the wire used in constructing spring 70, the number of coilstherein, and the open length of the spiral is a function of severalfactors. In the first instance, as explained previously, the diameter ofthe small and large ends of spring 70 will be a function of the size ofthe fishing reel. Furthermore, the size of the wire, the number of coilsand the length of the spiral will be a function of the weight of thespool since a large, heavy spool will have a greater inertia than asmall, light spool, thereby requiring a greater force to control itsrotation. More specifically, in the case of small, light, plasticspools, a wire diameter of 0.020 inches may be appropriate whereas withlarge, heavy metalspools, a wire diameter of 0.055 inches is moreappropriate. In the case of small diameter wire, six or seven coils maybe required to provide a suitable force, whereas in the case of largediameter wire, three coils may be sufficient. Other fishing reels,between these extremes, may use a wire size and number of coils ofcorresponding values. However, even though the size of the wire and thenumber of turns thereof may vary from one type of fishing reel toanother, the principle of operation remains the same in all reels.

With spring 70 added to any fishing reel of the standard type, the linemay be cast out with no attempt made to control the rotation of thespool, since the spool angular velocity will closely follow the linearvelocity of the line, accelerating and decelerating as the line is castout. As soon as the line contacts the water,

the spool will automatically stop rotating virtually eliminating thepossibility of a backlash or birds nesting of the line. By making anystandard type fishing reel virtually backlash-proof, the necessity forusing the more delicate, complex and expensive casting reels is entirelyeliminated.

While the invention has been described with respect to the preferredphysical embodiment constructed in accordance therewith, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications andimprovements may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention isnot to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiment, but only bythe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fishing reel of the type comprising a housing having spaced,parallel front and back plates, and a spool having a shaft connectedbetween first and second spaced, parallel end plates, said spool beingpositioned within said housing with said first and second end platesadjacent and parallel to said front and back plates, respectively, saidshaft being journaled in said front and back plates to permit rotationof said spool, said front plate including a crank mechanism for rotatingsaid spool, and including a ratchet mechanism mounted on said back plateand a ratchet gear connected to said shaft, the improvement comprising:

a spring consisting of a plurality of coils of wire, each successivecoil having a smaller diameter than the preceding coil, said springbeing positioned in said fishing reel with the large diameter endthereof in contact with said back plate of said housing and with thesmall diameter end thereof in contact with said second end plate of saidspool, said spring being compressed and applying a force to said spoolto prevent unlimited rotation thereof, said force retaining said springin position, the diameter of said large diameter and of said springbeing large enough to avoid interference with said ratchet mechanism andsmall enough to avoid contact with the periphery of said second endplate, the diameter of said small diameter end of said spring beinglarger than the diameter of said ratchet gear.

2. In a fishing reel according to claim 1, the improvement wherein saiddiameter of said wire is in the range of from 0.020 inches to 0.055inches.

3. In a fishing reel according to claim 2, the improvement wherein thenumber of coils of said spring is in the range of from three to seven.

4. In a fishing reel according to claim 1, the improvement wherein theouter diameter of each. successive coil is smaller than the innerdiameter of the preceding coil.

1. In a fishing reel of the type comprising a housing having spaced,parallel front and back plates, and a spool having a shaft connectedbetween first and second spaced, parallel end plates, said spool beingpositioned within said housing with said first and second end platesadjacent and parallel to said front and back plates, respectively, saidshaft being journaled in said front and back plates to permit rotationof said spool, said front plate including a crank mechanism for rotatingsaid spool, and including a ratchet mechanism mounted on said back plateand a ratchet gear connected to said shaft, the improvement comprising:a spring consisting of a plurality of coils of wire, each successivecoil having a smaller diameter than the preceding coil, said springbeing positioned in said fishing reel with the large diameter endthereof in contact with said back plate of said housing and with thesmall diameter end thereof in contact with said second end plate of saidspool, said spring being compressed and applying a force to said spoolto prevent unlimited rotation thereof, said force retaining said springin position, the diameter of said large diameter and of said springbeing large enough to avoid interference with said ratchet mechanism andsmall enough to avoid contact with the periphery of said second endplate, the diameter of said small diameter end of said spring beinglarger than the diameter of said ratchet gear.
 2. In a fishing reelaccording to claim 1, the improvement wherein said diameter of said wireis in the range of from 0.020 inches to 0.055 inches.
 3. In a fishingreel according to claim 2, the improvement wherein the number of coilsof said spring is in the range of from three to seven.
 4. In a fisHingreel according to claim 1, the improvement wherein the outer diameter ofeach successive coil is smaller than the inner diameter of the precedingcoil.